1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a batten mount and to a system for mounting a batten.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the demountable office partition industry, seams between wall partitions are often hidden by first affixing a support strip along the seam having longitudinally extending legs with outwardly directed flanges. A batten having legs with inwardly directed flanges may then be snap fit to the support strip. To provide a finishing strip at door lintels, which may cover screws securing the lintel to a wall partition, similar battens may be snap fit to flanged legs extending longitudinally along the lintels.
For reasons of economy, the size of battens, support strips and door lintels with spaced flanged legs are standardised. The battens, support strips and lintels may be fabricated from aluminium or plastic. Where they are made from aluminum, they are die extruded. With use, the dies wear, usually at different rates because different amounts of each component are used for various jobs, such that the dimensions of the battens, support strips and lintels during a production run change. The practical result is that some aluminum battens fit loosely on the supporting legs of a support strip or lintel such that the installer must either screw the batten to the support strip or lintel or use adhesive or various types of tapes to affix the batten to the strip or lintel and others fit very tightly and must be driven on with a mallet. When it is desired to demount a partition, the battens must be removed. Where the batten is aluminum and makes a tight fit with its supporting legs, it is invariably destroyed when removed. In the case of loose-fitting battens which have been affixed to the strip or lintel with screws, the screw holes render the batten unsuitable for re-use and if an adhesive or tape was used to secure a loose batten, the adhesive or tape must be removed (often a difficult and uneconomical operation) to be able to re-use the batten. This necessitates obtaining new battens when the partition is re-used.
This invention seeks to overcome drawbacks in the prior art.